Page 64 of Next Time I Fall (Excess All Areas 2)

“Okay.”

She lifted her chin towards him, and he rewarded her with a lingering kiss.

“Don’t work too hard.”

“Enjoy your afternoon.”

She watched Ben slap him on the shoulder as they left the studio.

A few moments later, her father yawned as he stepped into her office. “Did Sad Fridays just leave?” His tone was incredulous.

“Yeah. They had an epiphany of sorts and have gone somewhere else to talk about it.”

“Talk about it? They need to get on and rehearse the goddamn album.” The lines on her father’s forehead almost made her smile. While she fully respected the band’s act of rebellion, she understood—as someone who wanted to be a successful music producer—that it was a shit thing to do to bail on a booked resource.

But as the woman falling in love with Jase Palmer, she knew what Jase did was the best thing for him, his brother, and his band.

“I think this might be one of those things that puts them back half a day today but speeds them up from tomorrow.”

“We didn’t get to talk,” Jimmy said.

“We can talk tomorrow when you’ve had some rest. I booked you a car for the ride home. Figured it wasn’t safe to drive after such a long and exhausting day.”

“You booked me a car?” Her father looked at her as if she had grown two heads.

“Yeah. Should I have not done that? I decided it was okay, seeing we book cars for some of the clients if they need it.”

He rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Not used to having someone look out for me. It’s ... unusual.”

“Unusual as in I’m a grown man so back off? Or unusual as in I might get used to the idea of someone caring I get home safe?”

Jimmy thought for a second. “The latter. Listen, tomorrow. Do you want to come in early? Go through the Sad Fridays recordings and see where we’re at at the halfway point with them?”

“I’d love that.”

“I’ll bring breakfast.”

“That’d be nice, Dad.” She said the word without thinking.

Perhaps he was too tired to notice, but Jimmy didn’t acknowledge the slip. Instead, he tipped his chin. “Thanks for booking me the car,” he said.

And despite being the only person left in the studio, she didn’t feel remotely alone.

* * *

“Stop looking at me like I came to steal your souls or some shit,” Jase said as he placed their beers on the table of the empty bar.

Ben reached for his pint. “That actually might be less shocking than that song. You storm out of there on Friday, leaving us thinking you were being a complete and utter douchebag, like always. And this”—he gestured up and down at Jase—“You. The person who came back. I don’t know. It’s a head fuck. In a good way.”

Jase looked towards Luke. “I called Izabel and apologised for being a dick. I apologise to you too. I shouldn’t have gone there.”

Luke looked up at him. “You know what. I’m over it. I don’t know that I’ll ever trust either you or Matt as far as I can throw you. You both let me down. But it’s time to move on. I can be professional if you can.”

It was more than he expected. “Thanks, man.”

“So, what else do you have for us? Wait, how did you do all this?” Matt asked.

Jase lowered himself into a chair and pulled out his laptop. “Bexter has a place on the lake. Has a full recording studio in it. Cerys talked to me about what she overheard on Friday when we argued. She basically told me that she thought my opinion was right, but I do a shit job of expressing myself.”

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